October 25, 2007 15:31

Metallica reveal new album harks back to '80s heyday Metallica Tickets

Band have nearly completed follow-up to 'St. Anger'

Photo Gallery: Metallica

Metallica have shed light on the progress of their new album.

Set to be released sometime in late spring 2008, the record looks set to be a return to the grand sound of the band’s 1980s output, rather than the heavier stylings of 2003’s ‘St. Anger’ release.

Drummer Lars Ulrich confirmed: “These new songs echo some of our stuff from the ‘80s – long, epic journeys through different musical landscapes, heavier, but a lot more melodic.”

He also revealed a number of "silly working titles", including ‘19’, ‘10’, ‘German Soup’, ‘Glass Cow’, and ‘Black Squirrel’.

The currently untitled album has been produced by Rick Rubin rather than the group’s usual collaborator Bob Rock.

Speaking to the San Francisco Examiner, Ulrich said: “For our sanity, our own creative survival, we needed to work with a different set of circumstances and dynamics.

"So we’ve been stripped of our defence mechanisms, and it’s been very invigorating to be challenged again. Rick’s taken everything we’ve known about making records and completely turned it upside down.”